More Reforms Still Needed

February 26, 2003

Prison officials moved quickly and in the right direction after news stories disclosed Florida's malfunctioning "house arrest" program lets dangerous felons commit repeat crimes and flee. But reform isn't final and full public confidence isn't restored.

House arrest lets judges sentence some convicted criminals to serve their punishment at home. The goals are good: Save taxpayers money ($11 a day vs. $50 for a prison inmate). Let inmates work to pay victims restitution and repay trial and supervision costs. Expedite efforts to return a criminal to a normal life.

However, a newspaper investigation showed house arrest failing, with six of 10 offenders kicked out the first year for violations. Officers and judges were slow to respond to rules violations. Since 1983, house arrest offenders committed 234 murders and 538 sexual assaults. Nearly 5,000 convicts, including 14 killers and 115 sex offenders, fled and were never captured.

To its credit, the Department of Corrections implemented two helpful reforms only weeks after the first published report about house arrest problems in The Orlando Sentinel, a sister Tribune Company newspaper of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

First, DOC ordered supervisors to review parole officers' electronic notes weekly, instead of monthly, to ensure they are making weekly contact with convicts and random checks at various days and times.

Second, DOC now requires officers to investigate and report within 48 hours any unauthorized absence by convicts from a home. So far, so good. But the Florida Corrections Commission is properly calling for more improvements, and will make specific recommendations March 5.

These improvements are essential:

Judges should promptly remove all violent offenders from house arrest and imprison them. In the future, judges should restrict who gets house arrest privileges and stop ignoring laws banning violent offenders, like killers and rapists, from the program.

DOC should adopt a "zero tolerance" policy for offenders who break curfew or other rules.

Finally, Gov. Jeb Bush and state lawmakers should put extra money into the state budget, if needed, to make room in prison for violent offenders who don't qualify for house arrest, buy enough electronic ankle bracelets to track offenders, and let overloaded DOC officials have a more manageable caseload.

Any additional money for this program will collide with a $4 billion state budget shortfall. But politicians should remember that, for them, protecting public safety is a primary job requirement.